Chasing the Wishmaker
by neaucleareactor5
Summary: Allison 'Allie' Jackson and Ryan Maverick both have the same dream; to find the Wishmaker, Jirachi. However, their reasons differ. One wishes simply to find him. The other wishes to change the world for better or worse. And it is this that sets the two apart. Formerly titled 'Toxic Opposition.' Co-written with Juliet's Shadow.
1. Enemies Battle (Allie)

**This is a story that Juliet's Shadow and I decided to write together. We'll be switching off writing the chapters, so that explains the change in writing style. Anyways, Juliet's Shadow wrote the first chapter, so here it is. Enjoy. **

Chapter 1

_Allie_

"Chance, go!" I throw my pokeball out and I can see the light let out my chosen Pokémon.

"Justin, come out!" Across the field I see Ryan send out his Pokémon. For a moment I don't see my enemy. I don't see the white hair and stormy gray eyes that makes up the face of my enemy. I see the kid that I got my starter Pokémon with, my best friend since childhood.

"Ready to do this, Maverick?" I call out across the battle field.

"If you're ready to get your ass kicked, Jackson!" He calls back to me. I feel fury build and look at my partner, each one of us giving the other a nod.

"Chance, use fire blast on Justin!" I call out, letting all pent up rage escape me.

"Justin, dodge the attack!" The grass type found itself dodging the attack, jumping over the flames and finding itself face to face with Chance. "Leaf blade!"

"_Chance, use scratch on Justin!" I called out to my tiny new starter. He charged forward to the grass type and went to deliver a scratch. _

"_Justin, dodge it!" Ryan had called. The grass type ran out of the way and found itself behind my little fire type. "Pound!" _

I shake my head, clearing my head of these memories. There cannot be this anymore. Our friendship was ruined. We both chose our different paths. We parted on less than ideal terms, an inner war breaking between us over which one of us was right and which of us was wrong. "Chance, dodge the attack!" The fire type tried, but the grass type was simply too fast, quickly hacking at my partner with a sword of grass.

"Use sky uppercut while he's right there!" My partner did as he was told, quickly throwing the grass type in the air with the fighting type move.

"I'm glad to see you haven't lost your touch, Allie," Ryan called out from across the field, half to give me praise, half to taunt me. It worked. I could feel myself getting fired up in a way I seldom found myself doing.

"Shut it, Ryan." I pause. "Hate to say it, but you haven't lost your touch either." Ryan gave me a smug look before launching into his next attack.

The battle went back and forth, fire and grass dueling one another, looking for an advantage. 'This battle should be easy,' I thought. 'My blaziken should totally have the advantage over his sceptile.' Ryan must have noticed my frustration. "Getting frustrated, are we, Allison?"

I narrow my eyes and crack my knuckles, looking at Chance. I have to trust my Pokémon. It's the only way I could possibly win. "Frustrated, huh? Is that a move? I've never heard that word before! Chance, close in on Justin and unleash a blaze kick!"

Chance did as he was told, cornering the grass type and preparing to launch his leg into the sceptile's chest. "Justin, jump up and use leaf storm and get away from there!"

Leaf storm as a defensive move? Ryan has always been creative. Too bad it won't work this time. "Get those leaves out of there by using fire blast!" I planned to get rid of the leaf cover by burning it away. Ryan, unfortunately, seemed to anticipate this. By the time the leaves were nothing but a shower of embers, the sceptile was gone. "Leaf blade on Chance, Justin!"

I didn't have time to react. The sceptile came out of nowhere, swiping at Chance with the leafy sword. "Sky upper cut, while he is close!" Chance had taken damage from the leaf blade, but Justin could take damage with sky uppercut. Sure enough, the grass type was once again sent flying. Ryan seemed to calculate this, though.

"Land on Chance's back!" The grass type found itself aiming to land on top of my fire type. "Nervous yet?"

I shook my head. "Not in the least!"

Ryan and I always seemed to connect with the Pokémon we captured, in more ways than one. We were very different style wise. I have always been the far more rash one of the two of us, living in the moment and making decisions without completely thinking of consequence, much like a fire type, much like the types of Pokémon I found myself surrounded with. Ryan was different. He thought things through, making each decision a heavily calculated one, making his moves based off moves that one wouldn't even think they were going to make. He always seemed at least five steps ahead of his opponents. I used to tease him, saying he could see the future. He was closer to a grass type in reality than a fire type, calm and cool. I had to prove I could defeat my biggest rival. I had to defeat him just this once! "Chance, let Justin land on you and use fire blast while spinning!" Like I had predicted, the flames made a vortex, trapping both Pokémon inside of fire.

"Justin, use leaf blade continually on Chance!" We could hear our Pokémon attack one another. We could both tell they were fighting for us, trying to protect our honor. I knew that is what Chance was doing, at least.

The flames eventually died away, leaving our Pokémon standing there, each one with fierce determination in their eyes. The four of us were breathing heavily. I felt as though I could feel every attack Chance had received. Then the great Pokémon started to fall. It was impossible to determine a winner. We had both lost. We had both won. "Chance, return." I looked at his pokeball and gave it a small smile. "Great job, bud. Take a nice rest. I'll get you to a Pokémon Center soon."

I could see Ryan doing the same thing to his Pokémon, recalling it and thanking it for its work. Still, I felt wary. I knew Ryan. I've known Ryan since before I can remember. I should trust him. There should be no reason for me too feel wary at the sight of him. I was, though.

I pulled a pokeball away from where it was clipped onto my bag and called out my Jolteon, Isaac. I knew the electric type would rather be outside, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice. He hated being cooped up in his pokeball. During battles I often had no choice but to put him in there, as he would force himself into the battle at the slightest sign of trouble. I loved that about my little spike ball, but it could be troublesome at times. Fortunately, this was not one of those times. I walked over to Ryan, my hand out for a handshake. "Nice battle," he said.

I nodded. "You too." The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. Isaac had bits of electricity sparking off the end of him in warning. "Easy, Isaac." Ryan wasn't causing me any threat, at the moment.

He eyed my Jolteon and gave him a quick look over. "I can see you trained him well."

I nodded. "He was eager to learn, even as an eevee. You should remember that."

Ryan crossed his arms. "I sure do. What is he now? Your precious little body guard?"

I took a breath and looked at Ryan with narrowed eyes, which were green at the moment, and attempted to keep my temper under control. "Listen, jerk. I don't need a body guard. I will never need a body guard. Isaac is out of his pokeball simply because he wants to. He doesn't like being cooped up. It's not my fault if he is loyal as hell in the process."

Ryan held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean any offense, Allie. I was simply saying that Isaac looks like he wants to attack me."

I nodded. "He does. I'm not the only one who sees you as a traitor, Ryan."

Ryan rolled his eyes and grabbed a pokeball off of his belt. "This has been fun, Allie. Really! I've got to go, though." He released a large charizard out of the red and white ball, who roared in response, shooting a jet of fire into the air. Surely that cannot be the same timid little charmander Professor Sycamore gave him when he gave me my bulbasaur. Ryan easily got onto Tobasco's back and flew off.

I grabbed a pokeball and released a large green dragon out of his pokeball, my Flygon, Raider. "We need to go to the nearest Pokémon Center, Raider. Chance is hurt." My flygon nodded and took off to the sky.


	2. Ryan

**Here's Chapter Two. Enjoy. **

Chapter 2

_Ryan_

Tobasco leapt into the air, his great, leathery wings beating as they lifted us high into the sky in a matter of seconds. I risked a glance back to see a green blur shooting off in the opposite direction, Allie's red hair trailing behind her. I chuckled and shook my head, turning to look at the sky in front of us. Allie always had been eccentric when it came to her looks, changing them what seemed like every day for whatever situation she might find herself in. Tobasco grunted and flicked his head back at me, telling me to snap out of it.

"Right. Sorry, you know how I am." I said, scanning the ground around us. If I was right, we should be near a town….I spotted a small cluster of buildings, the only sign it was there being a glint of glass in the sun. "There. Let's go there, there's probably a Pokémon hospital there, if not a Pokémon center." I said. Tobasco grunted, circling the town a few times before bending down into a steep dive. Just before we hit the ground, he pulled up, landing gently in the middle of town without even the slightest hint of a thud. I leapt off of him, heart racing and sweat beading on my forehead. "Dammit, man. You know I hate it when you do that." I grumbled. Tobasco let out what sounded like a laugh while I recalled him.

"C-can I help you?" A woman asked, obviously taken aback by our sudden landing. She was middle-aged, and a teenage boy stood next to her, glaring at me. He looked younger than me by about two years or so, which would make him fifteen.

"Oh, jeez. Sorry. Did we startle you? Are you ok?" I asked. "Tobasco's one for theatrics, so sorry if we hurt you or anything." The woman's surprised look was wiped off of her face, replaced by a kindly looking one.

"No, no. It's fine, you just startled me." She said. I grinned, nodding and scratching the back of my head.

"Ok, good. Say, do you know where I can find a Pokémon center or something?" I asked. The woman nodded, pointing towards a small house in the middle of town. She probably said something else, but I was already wrapped up in my mind by the time she did. "Thanks." I absently said, walking up towards the small house. Allie…she used to be my best friend, and I'd like to think she still was. I didn't have many friends. The problem was, we'd had a little 'falling out,' and now she seems to hate me. I pushed open the door to the small house, barely registering the sing-song voice that said:

"Hi! I haven't seen you around. Are you looking for rooms or do you have a hurt Pokémon?" the voice asked. I grunted, handing the counter lady Justin's pokeball.

"He's a sceptile. Please fix him up for me." I said. The lady smiled warmly and took Justin's pokeball into the back room after saying something else. I didn't hear; I was too busy thinking. I sat down on a chair and clasped my hands in front of my face. Why did she hate me so much? Sure, we disagreed on some things, but still… I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "Don't get wrapped up like that, idiot. She's….the enemy now." I sighed and leaned back in my chair, recalling back when we were kids. We had been so convinced that we were going to change to world together….

"SIR." An annoyed voice called out at me. My head snapped up to look at the speaker, who was looking quite annoyed at me. I must've been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn't heard her. Not the first time it happened, trust me.

"Yes?" I asked. The counter lady handed me Justin's pokeball, and I nodded. "Right. Thanks. Sorry, I was just…thinking." I said, staring at Justin's pokeball blankly.

"Are you ok?" The woman asked. I looked up at her and shrugged, a small smile dancing on my lips.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a less-than-cordial meeting with an old friend." I chuckled and shook my head. "First time we've seen each other in about a year, and she wants to tear my throat out. I was training in the woods not too far from here, and we just happened upon each other. After a quick argument, we had a battle and then left. But I'm sure you don't want to hear about it." I said, standing up. The woman smiled at me and shook her head.

"No, not at all. It's too bad about your friend. Do you need a room?" She asked gently. I shook my head.

"Nah, I'll be leaving shortly. Thanks for the help." I said, and walked out of the door. Allie truly does hate me now. All because we disagree. My expression turned cold as I suppressed the childhood memories of her that were bubbling to the surface of my subconscious. "If that's how she wants to play it, then fine. We don't have to be friends anymore." I muttered, pulling my pokeNav out of my pocket. Allie's number was still the first on the list…I scrolled past it, tapping on the map icon in the bottom corner. The nearest town was about thirty miles away.

"Hey, you! You're a Pokémon trainer, right?" A voice rang out. I looked up to see the boy from earlier approaching me. I nodded and went back to scrolling through my contacts. "Then I challenge you to a battle!" He shouted, getting annoyingly close to me. I stepped away, tapping on one of my contacts.

"No. I'm busy." I said, hitting dial. I brought the pokeNav and listened to it ring, trying to ignore the idiot in the background.

"What?! You can't just say no! That's against the rules!" He shouted. My pokeNav continued to ring. "Are you listening to me?! Fight me!" There was a click, and the person I had called picked up.

"Yo, hey Ryan. How's it going, man?" The person on the other end said. The line was full of static, but I figured it would be. I only had one bar here.

"Brett. Where are you now?" I asked, pressing my finger to my other ear to hear him better. Plus it blocked out the idiot yelling behind me.

"Slateport. Got a job at a shipyard and- Hey! Watch it!" Brett yelled, causing me to pull the pokeNav away from my ear. He had an obnoxiously loud voice.

"LISTEN TO ME YOU WHITE-HAIRED FREAK!" The kid behind me yelled. I froze, slowly turning around to glare at the kid, who was red faced and angry.

"GWAHAHAHAHA! Did I really just hear what I think I heard? Damn! What a freakin' idiot! Alright man, get back to me when you finish mopping the floor with this idi-" I didn't wait for Brett to finish, snapping my pokeNav shut and sticking it into my pocket. The boy smirked, and I scowled.

"Yeah, you heard me. What kind of idiot dies his hair white?" He said, grabbing a pokeball from his belt.

"It's natural." I said simply. "Tobasco. Only use flamethrower." I said, tossing out my Charizard. He roared, the same as he always did, releasing a jet of flame and glaring at his opponent.

"So you're using a fire-type, huh? Then I'll use Buizel!" He yelled. In a flash, Tobasco was all over the Buizel, beating him down with a barrage of relentless flames. Calmly, I watched the boy as he stared open-mouthed at his now unconscious Buizel. "Fine. Graveler, you're up!" Once more, his Pokémon was completely annihilated Tobasco, despite the obvious type advantage. That was the difference in our skill levels. I checked my watch and cursed, realizing what time it was.

"Tobasco, let's go. We're done here." I said, walking up to the Charizard. Burn grunted, puffing out a cloud of smoke. I nodded and leapt onto his back, grabbing a small stack of bills from my pocket and tossing it to the kid. "I've gotta run. Just so you know, I'm being nice. Technically you win, because I'm withdrawing, but you know what the end result would've been." I said. The kid just stared at me dumbly, holding onto the money, and watched as Tobasco leapt into the sky, wheeling in a circle and shooting off towards the horizon. I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to Allie. _I haven't given up on you quite yet._


	3. The Fairly Tale

**Another chapter. Enjoy. **

Chapter 3

_Allie_

The room at the Pokémon center was less than comfortable. I found myself tossing and turning after the events of the day. I eventually gave up and went over to look at my pokeballs, carefully getting out of bad as to not disturb Isaac, who was sleeping by my feet. I grabbed the pokeball that belonged to Chance and tossed it form hand to hand. "How did we not win, Chance?" In all the years I have been traveling I have never lost a battle, not once since I turned fifteen. Two years ago, battling became easy. I became unbeatable, except by Ryan. The difference was, I could occasionally beat him, too. Ever since our fight, I've been training nonstop, preparing for the day I would see Ryan again. I knew it had to be inevitable. I tiptoe out of the room, not caring if I am only in my pajamas. Still, Isaac sensed me leaving and followed me out. I scratched him behind his pointed yellow ears. "You comin', bud? I've got a video call to make."

We walked down the hall and hopped into the elevator. Because it was so late at night, the elevator arrived to my floor quickly, having to make no additional stops to pick up any other passengers. It was just Isaac, myself and Chance's pokeball in the elevator. We reached the bottom floor where a sleepy looking Chansey stood behind the counter, waiting to assist anyone who needed it. When the pink Pokémon saw me come down, it immediately rushed over to help me. "No thanks," I said. "I just need to use the video phone."

The pink Pokémon nodded and allowed me to continue my way to the green machine. I typed in the number and listened to the phone ring five times before it was answered. "Allie, do you realize how late it is?"

I roll my eyes. "Suck it up, Hayden. It's only 12:37." My face must've said something, as Hayden could tell something was wrong.

"What is it, Allie?" he asks me. I shake my head.

"I, uh," I have to pause. Isaac nudges me with his nuzzle. I cannot believe this is once the same little timid Eevee I had. Now he is the one supporting me. "I ran into Ryan today."

Hayden looked at me, unconcerned. "And?" He crossed his arms in preparation for a lecture. "Listen, Allie, I really think you are being too hard on him. Who throws a sixteen year long friendship out the window because of some little disagreement? I think you should call him."

I sigh and think of the pokeNav that is on my nightstand in the room. Ryan is still the top number. Over the past year I cannot remember how many times my thumbs have brushed the number, to tell him excitedly about the new Pokémon I caught, or the new move that another one learned. Other times I'm tempted to delete the number all together. Surely it would be easier, wouldn't it? I wouldn't have to read that name and have thousands of memories flood back to me, taunting me. "I can't do that, Hayden. He made his choice and I made mine."

Hayden looks at me with his eyes narrowed. "What exactly happened? You've always avoided the subject."

I shrugged. "I'm going to avoid it, again, Hayden. I still don't want to talk about it."

"Allie, come on," he said, pleading with me.

"I don't want to fucking talk about it!" Hayden got the idea and backed off once again. "I called you because I needed something familiar, Hayden." Hayden nodded and looked down towards the bottom of the screen. An awkward silence passes between us. "How's Wisp?"

"Wisp?" He asked. I nodded. "Wisp is good." Another awkward silence. Usually if I brought up his prized Banette, he would go on for hours, unable to stop talking about the biggest triumph the ghost type faced.

"What are you up to on your journey, Allie?" he asked me.

I found myself shrugging once again. "Same old, same old." Usually if someone asked me about my journey I would go on for hours about the most recent gym battle one and elite four defeated. I was technically a champion in four different regions, Hoenn, Kanto, Sinnoh and Kalos respectively, but I never officially took on the title. I wanted to keep traveling the world. With Ryan. He was also technically a champion of those regions. I haven't even challenged a member of any elite four since Ryan and I split. I didn't have that push that he gave me anymore. I had done what most trainers found themselves doing: traveling from gym to gym, gathering eight badges and challenging the Pokémon league. It was easy to defeat the league. All of the wins were by three Pokémon or more.

Eventually the silence became unbearable and Hayden and I told one another goodnight. I sighed and went back to my bedroom, Isaac at my heels. We went back up the elevator and walked back down the hall. "Want to hear a story, Isaac?" I ask him. The electric type sends out small, joyous sparks in response. "Well, why don't we ask the others if they want to hear one, too, huh?" Isaac gave a small yip of joy out of excitement. He, as well as all my other Pokémon, loved story time. I carried around this book of fairy tales I had gotten from my dad when I was little. He got it in Sinnoh from an old woman. He was studying the ancient Pokémon Dialga and Palkia, studying what they could do to the world. He wanted to see if it was possible to create a new world. The last thing he ever gave me was the book of fairy tales. I never saw him again and I never found myself missing him. He was never around when I was a child and he never came around when I was older. I heard he went crazy. I took the book with me on my journey. There were simple children's stories in the book, 'Meloetta's Red Shoes' and 'The Lake Trio Become Friends' but there were darker stories too like 'War Between Worlds' and 'The Legend of Darkrai and Cresselia.' I would tell them stories while traveling. Every night before we went to sleep I would pick a story and read it to them. There was one story I never told the Pokémon, though.

* * *

The night before we went on our journey, I couldn't sleep. I was too busy worrying about what I was going to choose the next morning. There was a knock on my window. I got up and saw messy white hair. "What are you doing here, Ryan?" Ten-year-old me asked. Back then my hair was still brown, my eyes were still their natural chocolate color. Ryan and I were still best friends.

I opened the window to let him in. "I couldn't sleep. I'm too excited about tomorrow," he said. "What are you doing?"

I give a small smile. "I'm reading."

"What are you reading?"

I look at my book and see the dog-eared pages of my favorite story. "It's a story from my fairy tale book. My favorite story."

"What's it about?" He asked. I couldn't help but smile. I loved reading this story.

* * *

"Come out, guys." It was a hushed whisper that I used to speak to the two pokeballs I had in my hand. With a pair of flashes, my vulpix, Bridget and my bulbasaur, Ivy, found themselves in front of me. I knew better than to let out my larger Pokémon in the small room. Chance, Mira and Raider could hear the story from inside their pokeball. They've listened to many stories that way. I settled myself on the bed and prepared my book while Isaac nestled himself on the bed beside me. Bridget found herself snuggling up next to Isaac and I once again detected the crush the two of them had on one another. Ivy found herself scrambling up the bed and making herself quite comfortable in my lap. She was, by far, the littlest bulbasaur I had ever seen, but we made it work for us in battle. She was also the fastest bulbasaur I had ever seen, which was a complete shock to those we battled with. Ivy didn't want to give up her speed by evolving. She could have been and ivysaur, or even venusaur by now if she wished it. She didn't.

I found myself stroking the top of Ivy's head as she nuzzled me affectionately. "Ready to listen?" Isaac and Bridget turned away from nuzzling one another and turned their attention to me. Ivy stood up a little straighter to see the pictures.

"Manectric and the Wish Maker," I said. The Pokémon all shuffled to listen to the story better. I felt as though I could even hear Chance, Mira and Raider turn to listen from their homes inside their balls.

"There was once a kingdom ruled by a selfish king. The king had everything he could possibly want. He had all the money in the world, a beautiful castle that housed a large courtyard that was filled with many Pokémon, and a Pokémon that was completely loyal to him, a manectric who loved his master more than anything. Despite all of this, the king was unhappy. He wanted a wife as beautiful as a milotic with a voice like a chimecho and the grace of a togekiss. 'Manectric,' he said, 'I need you to find me this woman and force her to come back to the castle and become my queen.' Manectric did as his master wished and went on his way to find the girl the king wanted for his queen.

"In a village not far from the kingdom, there was a beautiful girl with hair like the sun and eyes like falling rain. She sat in a field with her beloved, a man about to head off to serve in the war. Her plusle and his minun were shooting playful sparks at one another at the edge of the field. That is what caught Manetric's attention. 'Excuse me,' he said coming up to the tiny electric types, 'my master is looking for the most beautiful girl in the land.'

"Plusle and Minun stopped playing and looked at one another. 'Surely you would mean my master's love,' Minun said. 'She is as beautiful as a milotic and graceful as a togekiss.'

"Plusle, not wanting to be left out, started commenting on her mistress as well. 'She sings me to sleep at night. She has a voice as pretty as a chimecho!' Manectric knew this was the girl he was looking for.

"The electric type went over to the girl and saw she was really as beautiful as Plusle and Minun had described, but when he saw how in love she and the young solider were, he could not bring himself to separate them. He waited three days until the man had gone to war and then brought the girl to the castle, Plusle and Minun, who she was taking care of, at her side.

"Upon seeing the girl's beauty, the King was amazed. He praised Manectric for being such a good Pokémon, but immediately ordered the electric type to leave his sight. He was saddened by being sent away from his master, but did as he was told. Minutes later, he heard the girl crying, begging to go home, but the king refused. 'I'd rather die than marry you!' she cried. The king was outraged by this statement and he locked her in a room.

"'As punishment for your disobedience,' he said, 'I'm going to kill your beloved and force you to marry me.' It was at this moment manectric realized what a wicked human being his master was.

"At this moment Plusle and Minun ran over to Manectric. 'You have to help us!' Minun cried.

"'My mistress is in love but your master is going to kill the man she is in love with!'

"Manectric felt guilty, but there was nothing he could do. 'My master is a wicked man with nothing but evil intentions, but I'm afraid there is nothing I can do. I cannot stop my master.'

"Plusle and Minun looked at one another, knowing what the other was thinking. 'You could travel with us to the wish maker. It is said that he will grant a wish to anyone who can wake him. Plusle and I would journey on our own, but we are not strong enough. You must be strong, Manectric, to be the king's favored Pokémon. Can you take us to see the wish maker?'

"Knowing this was the only way to save the life of the young solider, he agreed. 'We have to hurry, though. It will take no more than three days for the king to reach the battle field and order the execution of your master.' With that, the three set off.

"The Pokémon traveled day and night to reach the alleged home of the wish maker, Star Cave. When they found it, they discovered it was guarded by three pokemon: Aggron, Metagross and Aegislash. 'Who dares to see the wish maker?' the Metagross asked.

"Plusle and Minun made their way forward to speak to the large steel type. 'Please, Metagross. My mistress's love is going to be killed by the king if we don't see the wish maker,' Plusle pleaded.

"Metagross did nothing. 'Sad love stories are often told to gain access into the wish maker's chambers. The stories were lies in order to make selfish wishes. Go away. We will not let you in.'

"Manectric took a step forward to try his luck. 'I can vouch for these two. They wish nothing more than to let their master and mistress live in happiness. Please let them go through. The king will kill the young solider simply because he had the most beautiful girl in the kingdom!'

"Metagross still refused to believe the electric types. 'You trained Pokémon are all the same. You want nothing but to give your masters infinite power.'

"Manectric found himself giving a low growl. 'Let me battle you. If I win, then Plusle and Minun get to go in and make their wish. If not, you can kill me. My master is one I no longer wish to serve.'

"Plusle and Minun looked at one another with fear and shock at the statement made by Manectric. 'You can't,' Plusle cried. 'They will surely kill you!'

"Manectric shook his head. 'So be it. At least I will be redeemed for being an accomplice in the murder of the young solider.'

"The battle started, Manectric battling Aggron first. The steel type moves used on Manectric did little in hurting the electric type, but the rock moves were excruciating. Manectric eventually won the battle, but not without taking a great deal of damage. Plusle and Minun tried to help Manectric heal, but Metagross warned that if Manectric accepted any help, that he would be killed. Plusle and Minun cheered him on from the sideline, cheering and clapping for him. Aegislash proved to be another challenge for the electric type. The sword pokemon did not hesitate to use his sword like powers against the weakened Manectric. Still, the battle was eventually won, but not without a great cost. The Manectric could hardly stand. Metagross found himself easily defeating the electric type. 'We had a deal, Manectric,' the Metagross said when he had won the battle.

"Manectric took his defeat with grace. 'So we did.' With the last of his strength, he turned his head to Plusle and Minun. 'I'm sorry I could not save your master, Minun, or save your mistress from her fate, Plusle.'

"Manectric died proudly, knowing he had tried his hardest to save the beautiful woman from his master's clutches. Metagross turned to the small, trembling electric types who stared at the body of Manectric. 'Go! Both of you!'

"It was at that moment when the cave opened and a figure erupted from the cave in a burst or starry light. 'What are you doing, Metagross?' a sleepy voice asked. 'Are these new friends that have come to play with me?'

"Metagross bowed to the figure. 'These pokemon came here to make a wish. We chased them off, killing their companion for wanting to disrupt your sleep, Jirachi.'

"It was then Jirachi noticed a still figure on the ground. 'That wasn't very nice,' he said. Using a wish, he brought Manectric back to life. Opening his eyes, Manectric looked around, confused. He found himself surrounded in a starry light. 'Metagross, why would you hurt them? These pokemon came here to help their friends.' Jirachi turned his attention to the still trembling Plusle and Minun. 'My name is Jirachi. I'm the wish maker. Are you two my friends?'

"It became apparent to Manectric that Jirachi was nothing more than a child. He granted wished to those who were his friends. 'Yes, they are, Jirachi,' he said for the little electric types.

"Jirachi let out a laugh and twirled. 'Can we play a game?' he asked.

"Manectric once again spoke for the little pokemon. 'They can't, Jirachi. They need to make a wish.'

"Jirachi gave a small pout and looked at them. 'Why won't my friends play with me?'

"Manectric could sense how alone the wish maker was. He knew the feeling well. As a young electrike all he had wanted to do was play with his master, the young prince. The two had constantly played, but as the prince, now king, grew up, he refused to play with him anymore. It had turned the king evil and selfish. Manectric did not want the wish maker to end up like that. 'I'll play with you, Jirachi. I'll play with you as long as you're awake. When you are asleep, I'll become your guard. I'll watch out for any Pokémon who need you to make wishes and wake you up. When you're awake we can play again. I'll be your big brother, Jirachi.'

"Jirachi's downcast face lightened at the sound of this. 'Will you really? You'll stay with me forever?'

"Manectric nodded. 'I will, but only if you grant their wishes.'

"Jirachi let out another child-like giggle. 'Of course I will! Plusle, what will your wish be?'

"Plusle said her's without hesitating. 'I wish my mistress can be freed from the evil king.'

"With a wave of Jirachi's hand, the wish was granted. 'What about you, Minun?'

"Minun also said his without hesitation. 'I wish my master will not be killed by the evil king.'

"Jirachi once again waved his hand, granting a wish. 'Do you have a wish, manectric? I can grant three wishes before I return to sleep.'

"Manectric thought about this for a moment before speaking. 'I wish the kingdom will have a king that will do right by his people. He will not be selfish and serve only himself. Everything he does will be to better the kingdom.'

"With a wave of his hand, Jirachi did this wish. 'Your wish is granted. Minun's master is now the king.' Jirachi floated to the ground and gave a yawn. 'I'm sleepy,' he said. 'Will you watch over me while I am asleep and play with me when I am awake, Manectric?'

"Manectric nodded. 'Of course I will.' The king Minun's master became was the best king the world had ever seen and his queen, Plusle's mistress, was the kindest queen the kingdom had ever known. It is said that to this day Manectric is still guarding Star Cave, where Jirachi is asleep."

With that, I closed the book at looked upon the sleepy faces of my Pokémon. This had been my favorite story growing up as a child. I had wanted a manectric as a little girl, begging my mom to get me and electrike as a present since I was three years old. She refused and told me to wait until I had received my Pokémon when I was ten. I had pouted at the time, but now I wouldn't trade Chance for anything. I wouldn't trade any of my teammates. Still, I was on the search for Jirachi.

I moved Ivy out of my lap and placed her on the other pillow on the queen sized bed. I placed a spare blanket over Isaac and Bridget at the end of the bed, as they yawned and snuggled up closer to one another. I swore I could hear Chance, Mira and Raider turning over in their pokeballs, getting comfortable and falling quickly asleep. I crawled into bed as well but found my mind racing with thoughts. Where was Star Cave? Where was Jirachi?

* * *

"I'm going to find Jirachi, one day, Ryan. It's my dream." I had gotten sleepy with telling the story. I looked up at the stars painted on the ceiling by my mother. She had known this was my favorite story. My bedroom was the inside of Star Cave. Painted on my door was a manectric, standing guard over me. Painted by my bed was a sleeping Jirachi.

Ryan climbed over into the bed beside me. "I'll help you look," he said. "We can find Jirachi on our journey."

I smiled and nodded. "I like that idea." Before long, we tumbled into sleep, waking up the next morning to pick out our Pokémon.


	4. Ryan's Research

Chapter 4

_Ryan_

I woke up in the morning to sunlight streaming in my window. Bird Pokémon twittered outside, Taillow and Wingull flew past my window in an excited flurry of wings. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, rolling over to try and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be possible, so I got up and stepped in the shower. The steaming water just made me want to sleep more, rather than wake me up. I threw on a pair of clothes, an orange t-shirt and tan shorts, I think, and grabbed my six pokeballs from the nightstand where they lay.

"Alright, guys. Let's get you some food," I said, strapping them to my waist and heading towards the door. I took one last glance around my small apartment, criticizing myself for not being cleaner. Documents and charts were strewn about, the majority of which were piled on my desk. Above my desk was a map of the world, marked with lines and lengths of string that pointed towards various locations around the world. I turned off the light and closed the door, listening to it close with a click. I made my way down the hall, silently passing by the other rooms. This was my second home, a small little apartment I was renting that no one knew about, not even Allie.

"How's it going, Ryan?" An elderly man asked as I passed by. I nodded to him, and grinned.

"Not bad, Mr. Anderson. How are you doing?" I asked, stopping in front of him. The old man sucked in a breath from his oxygen tube and smiled.

"I'm doing well, thank you for asking. Do stop by and tell me some more of your stories, I do enjoy those." He said. I nodded, and started walking off again.

"Will do. I've gotta run now, but I'll stop by later." I said with a wave. I walked out into the parking lot and looked around. The city of Slateport stretched out before me, full of the bustling sounds of the city. There was a little café about two blocks to the south that I went to most mornings. I could get a good drink, and let my Pokémon eat some food there. Of course, I had to make sure they didn't break anything, so I left the bigger ones in their pokeballs. I made my way down to the café and sat down, ordering a cup of coffee and a croissant, along with six meals for my Pokémon.

"Good to see you again, Ryan. Been a while since I last saw you. What you been up to?" The waitress asked, bringing my food. I shrugged, breaking apart the croissant.

"Oh, this and that. Been busy." I said. "Good to see you too, Janet." I said. She smiled and walked away, wagging her hips at me. I was too distracted to notice, however. "Alright, Justin, ESP, Eon. Breakfast." I said, letting my Pokémon out of their respective balls. Justin promptly sat down and began eating his meal, while ESP the Alakazam regarded me with a curt nod and began meditating over his food. Eon, my Glaceon, purred at my feet until I scratched her ears. She purred in approval and began to eat her food too. After breakfast, and giving the other three their breakfasts, I headed towards the Slateport city library.

It was there that I searched for my next research subject. After asking the librarians, I managed to find a thick book labeled _The Habits of Steel Types._I flipped it open and scratched my chin, examining the contents. The page I was on was about Metagross. I skipped over the description and instead headed towards the _Territory_section. I took a picture of the map that displayed their natural habitats on my phone, along with its pre-evolutionary stages, and flipped to my next target, Aggron. Once more, I took a picture of the natural habitats, and repeated the process with Aegislash.

"That ought to do it. I'll just have to get these printed out, and then sketched up on the same map…" I mused, becoming lost in thought. My theory was that these Pokémon may be the key to finding the Wishmaker. The Pokémon from the story may lead to the Wishmaker's resting place, as they were the appointed guardians. Of course, I'd tested this theory before, but it was worth another shot. I let ESP out of his ball and looked at him.

"What do you think?" I asked. The Alakazam closed his eyes and folded his feet to sit cross legged in mid-air. I nodded and pulled out a small notebook, going over the notes I'd taken before.

"_Unless you can find an map depicting ancient Pokémon territories, there is no way that it would work. Not even factoring in Manectric, Plusle, and Minun would help,"_ESP said, speaking to me telepathically.

"Yeah, I know. But there isn't a way to get that information, unfortunately. The ancient kings were too disorganized to really keep track of that stuff," I muttered. ESP nodded. We'd gone over this many times before, but I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something…

"Hey! Ryan! Didn't expect to see you in Slateport until tomorrow!" A voice called, obnoxiously loud in the quiet library. I winced and looked at the speaker, a gruff man in his late twenties with black stubble on his chin and brown eyes. His greasy brown hair fell to his shoulders, and he wore a plaid shirt.

"Hello, Brett." I said, turning back towards my book. "I decided to come a day early. Don't worry too much about it." Brett laughed and sat down opposite me.

"Sure. Whatever you say, boss," Brett said with a sly grin. I frowned at him.

"Don't call me boss. You know I don't like that," I said. He laughed and nodded.

"Well, technically you are my superior, so I'm supposed to either call you boss or sir, boss," Brett said. I groaned and rubbed my temples, earning another laugh from him. "I'm just joshin' ya, man. Whatcha lookin' at, anyways?" he said, peering at the book. He closed it and sighed. "Man, you still stuck on that fairy tale crap? I thought we got over this." I glowered at him and glanced at ESP, who was staring at a certain pile of books.

"No, I'm not 'over this.' Give it a rest, will you? It's my business!" I snapped. Brett shrugged and leaned back.

"Sure thing boss. Who am I to question your judgment?" he asked, still grinning at me. I groaned and snapped the book shut.

"Shut it, Brett. Before I shut it for you," I snapped. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Whatever you say, man. I just do it to grate on you, ya know. Your reactions are hilarious," he said. I nodded and glanced at the book. "Alright, man. How about you and me go hit the town, eh? Before the boss-man gets in town." I shook my head.

"No. A) I'm not of age to go…_hit the town._Legally, at least. B) I came early so I could relax and do my thing. Got it?" I asked. Brett winked at me and stood up.

"Sure thing, boss. Whatever you say. Just keep in mind that it's only illegal if you get caught," Brett said, and walked off. I sighed and glanced again at ESP.

"What do you have, buddy?" I asked.

"_Hmm. Perhaps if we broaden the search, we might find something of interest. Look for the territory of steel types in general, along with electric types. With some basic calculations, we may be able to rough out a basic logarithm to track their movements throughout time. I found a nice book that would help with that."_He said, holding up a book that read _Climate Change in the Hoenn Region; How Time Effects Us All."_I nodded and went back to my steel book.

"Alrighty then. Let's get to it." It was another six hours of relentless searching before I decided to call it a day. Six hours of both me and ESP working diligently, and not a single fruit to reap. I sighed and headed back to my apartment, wearily crashing down on the bed. "Damn it," I muttered, glaring at the ceiling. What was I missing? Surely I was missing something…I sighed and sat up, rubbing my temples. "Maybe it's not just a matter of cold, hard, math. Luck is a skill all in itself." I muttered. "Being in the right place at the right time is just as good as diligent searching." I checked my watch and sighed. Six o'clock. I changed clothes, switching into a dark blue suit and tie, and combed my stark white hair so as to look presentable. Though presentable wasn't really my thing. I walked to the door, exiting and hitching a ride in a taxi back to the city. I'd forgotten that I 'didn't' have an apartment, and thus the boss-man had rented a hotel room for me.

"Hello. How may I help you?" The receptionist asked as I walked in the grand doors. The hotel lobby was cased in marble. Only the best was suitable for the boss-man.

"Uh, hi. My name is Ryan Maverick, and I should have a reservation." I said. The receptionist checked, and nodded, pointing to the elevator.

"Fifth floor, sir. Your suite number is 36. Your two friends are already waiting for you," she said. I nodded my thanks and took the elevator to the fifth floor, walking out and looking for suite 36. I didn't have to look hard, as it was easily identified by the two men standing guard out front, dressed similarly to me, only wearing black suits instead of dark blue. They nodded to me and pushed the doors to the suite open.

"Sir," they said. I nodded to them. The boss-man had probably expected me to arrive early, and had sent them to catch me when I came in. Technically, I was supposed to have two bodyguards on me at all times, but I was never one to follow rules. Besides, who's going to mess with the champion of four regions? The suite was large and grand, but I didn't care. My brain needed a break, and I intended to give it just that. I crashed on the couch and flipped on the TV, not even paying attention to what was on. Now I just had to play the waiting game.


	5. Searching

**This chapter is a lot shorter, with very little action happening, and mostly filler, but it's getting us close to some action. **

Chapter 5

_Allie_

"_Allie, I'm here." I hear a child-like voice calling to me. "Allie, I'm right here! Come play with me!" _

_I look around but don't see anything besides pitch black. "Where are you? I can't find you!" _

_The little voice giggles, as if we're playing a game. "Come find me, Allie. I'm here! You're getting warmer."_

"_What do you mean? Who are you?" I call out into the pitch black. I know this voice. I can tell that I know it. My heartbeat picks up and I look around wildly. I cannot keep the smile off of my face. I find myself chasing after it. It proves as difficult as chasing a shooting star. _

"_Come play, Allie! Come play!" _

I sit up from my bed gasping for breath. Jirachi. It had to be Jirachi. He was calling out into my dream, connecting with me. Why? I climb out of bed carefully, as to not disturb the still sleeping pokemon. I find myself looking in the mirror. The dyed red locks are falling down my back in messy waves, like I fell asleep with wet hair and without brushing it. If I recall correctly, that is exactly what happened. I shake my head. "Time for a new color," I whisper. I go to my bag and dig up a box of hair dye. It's brown. It's my natural hair color. I've had the box of hair dye for months. I've wanted to use it, but I've been saving it until I ran out of colors. This is the only box I have left. I swore to myself this would be the last time I dyed my hair.

Coloring my hair was a form a therapy I've used since I was fifteen. Every time Jirachi would appear in my dreams, I would dye my hair a different color. Blonde, blue, purple, red, every color one can imagine, I've had that hair color. I'm going back to brown though. I'm going to find Jirachi.

I glance at the clock on my pokeNav. It's 3:26 in the morning. I should be able to pack up and leave by the time my hair has finished being colored. I've never been able to fall back asleep after I wake up from a dream about Jirachi. These dreams make me so happy, but I always feel like a dark shadow is watching me in them. If I go back to sleep after these dreams, I am haunted by horrible nightmares, like Darkrai himself is possessing me. Who knows? Maybe he is. Doubt it. "Jirachi, wait for me."

After coloring my hair, and reading a book until my team members stirred awake, I called them all, but Isaac, back to their pokeballs. I heard something about a cave that was close by. I could check it out. Jirachi said that I was getting warmer. I assume that means I'm getting closer to his home.

I cannot explain my fascination with Jirachi. The obsession with the pokemon started with the story. I tried to shake away the feelings the story brought me by battling, raising pokemon and just aiming to become the best trainer I could, but I always came back to that one thought: Jirachi. I have no idea what I'll do when I find him. I don't know if I intend to catch him, make a wish or just leave him sleeping, but I know I have to find him.

"Let's go, Isaac. I think we're getting close." With that, we started to go. I;m honestly not sure what town we were just at. I honestly have no idea where I am going. I just want to let my feet guide me. I can feel myself drawing closer to Star Cave. I can feel it.

When I travelled with Ryan, though the dreams and nightmares would haunt me, I was not nearly as obsessed with finding the Wishmaker. I had a distraction. I had my best friend their to imagine things with. I had a training partner. I find myself reaching over to my pokeNav, glancing at the number. Surely one little phone call couldn't hurt? Would he even care I was getting close to finding my dream pokemon? I put the device away. I'm sure he would. I just can't let him know where that spot is, though.

Eventually I come across a river. Pulling out a pokeball, I let Mira out. The Lapras lets me climb onto her back after I recall Isaac. Last time he rode on Mira he got wet and electrocuted us. I instead find myself calling Ivy out. The little grass type would enjoy a relaxing ride like this. Mira looks at me for directions. I point downstream. "Just go until we can't go anymore."

After about an hour of riding, we stop, noticing the river narrows and the waves become to choppy for even Mira to navigate. To say we were lost was an understatement. I had no idea where we were. I noticed there was a field. Close to the bank, there was green grass overflowing with water foliage and water pokemon. There was a group of surskit playing on the water while masquerain watched carefully above them, as to make sure they didn't get swept away by the increasing current. A colony of lotad, lombre and ludicolo played along the bank, the ludicolo performing for their lower evolutions. Further into the field there was blossoming flowers. A Roserade stood like a queen in the flowers, budew and roselia played with the oddish and gloom, occasionally being treated to a dance by bellossom or a treat by vileplume. All the while, wurmple crawled along the grass and beautifly and dustox floated through the air. "It's beautiful."

Ivy and I found ourselves walking among the field for what seemed like hours. The pokemon were undisturbed by humans. They were unafraid, until the field started to thin out. The flowers started to disappear and the lush green grass turned brown and became a harsh wasteland littered with rocks. "Ivy, return," I said, not wanting to get the little grass type hurt. "Chance, Bridget, come out." Before me, the two fire type pokemon appeared. "Stay close. We don't know what's out here."

Cacnea and cacturne started to be the only signs of green around. Sanshrew and sandslash popped in and out of holes to get a good look at Bridget, Chance and myself. Trapinch opened and closed their jaws hungrily at me. The little orange pokemon looked malnourished. I know because Raider was in a similar state when I caught him. "Where are we?" The waste land thinned out and became nothing but rocks. Pokemon long thought extinct sat on boulders, watching me. Lileep and cradily drew back at the sight, as if I would hurt them. Anorith and Armaldo came out of crevices to look at me. "This is giving me the creeps."

I wanted to find a haven like the one by the river. I wanted to find myself safe again. "Holy shit!" An Aggron, Metagross and Aegislash were all looking at me. 'Just like the fairy tale.'


	6. The Boss

Chapter 6

_Ryan_

I adjusted my jacket, walking towards the low office building in front of me. Grey rain clouds hung over the city, threatening to rain. Behind me walked the two guards from earlier, still wearing their black suits. Granted, I had put back on my blue suit, but that's beside the point. I paused and looked at the building, wondering why, exactly, the boss had decided to set the meeting here. He usually preferred higher end buildings.

"Is everything ok, sir?" One of the guards asked. I nodded and stepped forwards, walking into the building.

"I'm fine." I said, pushing the door open. The interior was much nicer than the exterior, with marble flooring and fancy glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. That was more like it. External appearance aside, this was more the boss man's taste. Multiple people walked around inside, each wearing similar, but different, suits. The majority were wearing simplistic brown suits, while a select few were wearing blue suits similar to mine. Following each of the blue suits were two black suited people, exactly like the two stoic figures behind me.

"Hello, Ryan." A voice said. I turned to the speaker, a woman with close-cropped brown hair and round glasses. She wore a blue suit exactly like mine, and was also flanked by two black suited men.

"Maryanne." I said. "Never a pleasure." I said, continuing walking. She snorted and fell into step next to me.

"The feeling is mutual. Regardless, I would like to meet with you after the meeting today." She said, and I nodded. "There are some things I would like to…discuss." I nodded again, but remained silent, following the directions of some of the brown-suited men. They directed us towards the back, where the meeting was to be held. We entered the room and sat down opposite each other. The large table that separated us was oval and seated thirteen people. Our guards politely and silently left the room, I assumed they were taking this opportunity to catch some shut-eye, but you never know.

"Ryan, Maryanne. Good to see you." Another man in a blue suit said, sitting down next to me. I nodded to him and waited while more and more of the blue suited people filtered into the room, sitting down in their seats. There were twelve in total, including me. Now we were just missing the boss.

"Oh, good you're already here." A voice said from the doorway. I turned to look at the man who entered, also known as the Boss. Seriously. He wouldn't give us his real name so we just called him Boss. It was really weird. He was dressed in a blue suit, like us, but it was much darker and made out of much finer material. He had short brown hair, combed to the side like it always was, and stood like he owned the room. Technically, he did. Rumor has it that he's one of the richest people in the world."Now, let's get started. Mr. Anderson, we'll start with you. How's our finances?" Boss said, sitting down at the head of the table. An older man stood up, shuffling some papers, and I closed my eyes, deciding that I didn't want to listen to this.

I began to think about Jirachi. What was it I was missing? I'd gone over the Pokémon territories multiple times, tried to find severe climate changes in history that might've effected the steel type's living areas, and then some, and yet I was having little luck finding it. The Pokémon…..perhaps that was the problem. I was focusing too much on them. What about the humans? The book had hinted, if not said directly, that there was a war going on at the time. But the problem was, how long ago was the fairy tale set? I'd have to look into that. Probably no less than a thousand years ago….

"Maryanne, what is the status of the Science and Research division?" The Boss asked. I opened one eye and tried to listen to what was going one. Science and Research was a division that I really liked, but wasn't the head of. Maryanne filled that position.

"Yes, well," Maryanne started, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "we have successfully duplicated the master ball, and the tracking equipment is well under way. As for the satellite system, that has been delayed due to insufficient funds. However, it should go off without a hitch once we get that. We have also considered that hacking into a satellite could also work." Boss nodded, and glared pointedly at Mr. Anderson, who was the head of our financial division.

"That means that you need to stop squandering our funds, Mr. Anderson. Thank you, Maryanne, that is good to hear. We will get you the funds you need for the satellite." Boss said. I closed my eyes again, not really caring for the rest of the assessments. Well, except for Mitch, maybe. His stories were always fun. He was in charge of the sketchier side of our operation, which basically meant high level thievery, contract kills, and eliminating potentially threatening people or Pokémon. Rumor has it that he was once the greatest hit man in the world, and took a full on job from the Boss because he was the only man he failed to kill.

"Mr. Maverick." The Boss's voice boomed. I sat up, opening my eyes and yawning.

"Yeah?" I asked. He frowned at me.

"Keep your eyes open during these meetings, Mr. Maverick. It is important you listen." He said. I yawned again and grinned at him.

"No promises." I said. He frowned at me again.

"You are still new to the Admin position, so I will forgive you this once. Pay attention in the future." Boss said. I nodded and grinned, leaning back in my chair once more. A few of the older Admins glared at me, while the younger ones just nodded and went back to listening to the next presenter. Four more boring lectures later, and it got around to me.

"Well, let's see…" I began. "Uh, training of the new recruits is fine. A few are showing potential, but none are noteworthy. A couple wouldn't even be worth using as a bullet sponge." I said, cracking my neck. "As for the Pokémon we've gotten…quite a few are pretty strong. Recently evolved the first batch of Larvitar all the way to Tyranitars, so that's a big step forwards." I said. Boss nodded. I was in charge of the Pokémon and training portions of the organization. None of the Pokémon were illegally obtained, of course. That attracted way too much attention. No, these were either bred or wild-caught Pokémon that I was in charge of overseeing until they were distributed.

"Thank you, Ryan. Very good. Now…" Boss began. Another hour of him talking, and, consequentially, and hour of me daydreaming, and the meeting was over. "Ryan. I would like to speak with you for a few moments. The rest of you are dismissed." Boss said, waving away the rest. Maryanne shot me a glance as she left, and the rest filed out of the room. I turned to the Boss when they all left, who was watching me intently with his fierce brown eyes.

"Yes?" I asked casually, still leaning back in my chair. He nodded and stood up, brushing off the front of his very expensive suit.

"How does the search go, Ryan?" He asked. I nodded, scratching the back of my head.

"Hmm. Interesting question. It's….vexing. I've narrowed down the possible locations of the cave from a few thousand to a few hundred in less than a week, but it's not yet complete. Currently I'm working on a few new leads that will narrow it down even more." I said. Boss nodded.

"I see. Work harder. We need to find the cave before Jirachi awakens, and before anyone else does." Boss said. I grinned and sat up, nodding.

"I completely agree. However, if I may make a suggestion…" I said. Boss nodded, and I continued. "In my experience travelling with an…..old friend, it's as much luck as it is calculation. Many a times, this friend of mine would stumble across something incredibly amazing, while it would take weeks for me to do the same with an number of calculations." I said.

"Your point, Ryan?" Boss asked. I nodded.

"Yes, what I'm saying is that luck is part of the game. If I could have your permission to send a few personnel to some sites, it would increase our chances of finding the cave tenfold." I said. Boss thought about it for a second, and then nodded.

"That is a very good argument you put up, Ryan. I will mull it over. For now, your task is to find the cave. Nothing else matters, not training, not raising Pokémon. Got it?" Boss asked. I nodded and stood up.

"Can do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do. Lots to accomplish in very little time." I said. Boss nodded and turned his back, excusing me from the room. I left, only to be caught by Maryanne, who was waiting outside. She patted me on the shoulder and slipped me a note with her other hand. When she left, I read it. _Meet me at the market at 7 o'clock tonight. Ditch your guards. _I snorted. Ditching guards was something I was exceedingly good at.


	7. The Cave

**Finally done with this chapter! Sorry it took so long but oh well. :) **

Chapter 7

_Allie_

The steel type pokemon stare me down, their eyes looking at me like I'm a meal. The pay little attention to the fire types that flank me. My breathing becomes unsteady. These are not the steel type of my fantasies. Those pokemon, though evil, had always had an aura of guardianship to them. These were just simple steel type. "Chance, Bridget, use fire blast," I command. They do as I say. Their high levels cause the wild steel types to faint quickly. Still, I feel myself wanting to continue on my expedition. Unfortunately, the setting sun made exploring difficult. I call out my other four pokemon, Isaac, Ivy, Mira and Raider and build a fire, creating a makeshift campsite. In my bag I had cans of pokemon food for my team members, but I had forgotten to pack a dinner for myself.

Seeing my lack of food, Ivy pushed her can over to me. The gesture was cute, but I wouldn't enjoy the food. "It's your food, Ivy. Not mine. I can't eat pokemon food, silly. Don't worry. I'm sure there are berries here somewhere. I'll snack on those as soon as I find some."

Ivy, and my other pokemon, were not quite satisfied with that answer, but seeing as there was nothing they could do about it, they left it alone and let me fall asleep, pulling the sleeping bag from my backpack and preparing to sleep, using the fire and my pokemon's company to keep me warm.

Around midnight was when the laughter entered my dreams. "Come find me!" a little voice cried. "I'm here! Find me, Allie!"

"Where? I don't see you?" The laughing didn't stop. Instead it just increased.

"Come and get me!" The dream turned nightmarish, dancing lights that made up my dream turn dark, casting shadows across my subconscious. The laughter becomes eerie, like a child's laugh in a horror movie. I expect a ghost to pop out at me. I swallow and go to grab a pokeball from my waist, but none are there. I'm on my own in this hell.

"Allie?" I look around before catching sight of a white head of hair. "Allie, where is Jirachi?" I'm angry at the sight of him, but my anger melts away as Ryan shrinks, no longer the seventeen year old I've come to know, but now ten years old. On his shoulder sits a treeko. "Allie?" younger Ryan asks, "where is Jirachi?"

I can't take it. The sight of him fills my subconscious with all my feelings about being betrayed. Everything comes bubbling to the surface. "Why'd ya have to fuck everything up, Ryan? Why did ya have to join them? They were the bad guys! They always were!" I look at the ten year old Ryan standing in front of me. "I wish things were the way they used to be."

I ignore the feeling to cry, blinking back all my tears but one. It falls down and I don't notice it. Soon, I'm soaking wet and the dark place around me fades.

I open my eyes and it it still dark out, the light of the moon and the dying fire being the main sources of light, but I could see the light of dawn just starting to break over the horizon. I was soaking wet, as a result of a water type move used by Mira. The lapras was looking at me with concerned eyes. I got out of the sleeping bag and stroked her neck. "It's alright, Mira. It was just a bad dream." Still, the dream felt strangely intense. I dream every night, usually bits and pieces of my subconscious forming puzzle piece dreams until I wake up the next morning. Even when my dreams are unpleasant, I'm typically such a heavy sleeper, no one can tell. "Come on. We need to be heading out soon."

I recall her to her pokeball and so the same with my other pokemon, leaving only my green dragon out to stay by my side. The flygon flies low beside me, keeping an ever watchful eye on our surroundings. "Think we'll find anything, Raider?"

The dragon flaps his wings harder creating the desert songs flygon are known for. "That's what I thought." Raider flew off out of sight for a moment, to my shock, but I stayed where I was. He came back after a couple of minutes holding pecha berries. "Where'd you find these?" I ask him. He passes them off to me and I pet his head, scratching him in his favorite spot. I take a bite out of a particularly large pink fruit and we continue to walk into the unknown.

After a while, we reach a dead end, a steep cliff falling far down below us. We couldn't see the bottom. It was just black. "Wanna go for it, Raider?"

Out of all the pokemon on my team, Raider is the one most like me. Chance wants to protect me, Ivy is shy to those she doesn't know, Mira plays mom and dotes upon me and my other pokemon constantly, Bridget is trying to constantly prove herself and Isaac wants to impress everyone he sees. Raider and I have a sense of adventure and lack of common sense that could easily get us into trouble. Seeing a cliff like this, common sense says to back away. We say jump, and we do. We fly down quickly, but when we lose the light from above, Raider slows down. "Wait a moment, Raider. Stay still. I'm calling out Ivy," I feel the pokeballs on my belt. Ivy is the second one. I am very careful when calling her out, letting the silver light go directly into my arm. I put the pokeball back on my belt. "Keep flying down, Raider. Ivy, use flash."

The grass type does as I ask and provides light. I look down, only to see the bottom is still not in sight. "This, cannot go on forever, Raider. We'll get there." It isn't too much longer before we do hit ground, but we don't need flash to see it. "This is impossible." Lights at the bottom of the pit dance around like stars, reflecting silver, gold and white on the blue of the pit. "This has to be it! This has to be Star Cave!" I feel excitement rising as I look around. There are series of tunnels that could take me a number of ways. "One of these has to lead to Jirachi," I say, looking at Ivy and Raider. "Let's go."

I pick the fourth of the six tunnels and found myself entering a series of caverns and tunnels. A variety of pokemon I had not expected made their home in the beautiful cave: poliwag, anorith, chingling and kricketot lived towards the entrance, watching me with curious eyes, lotad and bonsly lived where water started to make puddles on the ground, but the air had yet to turn chilly, while gulpin, psyduck, lunatone and bronzong made their home in the depths of the cave, where the pools of water that formed were icy on the edges. Raider and Ivy fought off any pokemon that dared attack us, quite easily, since none of the pokemon there could have been above level twelve.

"Let's stop for lunch," I said, once we entered a large cavern that appeared to be uninhabited. I called out the other four team members and poured food into their respective bowls. I was pulling out a pecha berry when I saw the electric type pokemon, an electrike. It was crouching behind a rock, looking at us with hunger in its eyes. With the coldness of the cave, it was a wonder it hadn't frozen to death. "Do you want some?" I called over to the little pokemon. It hid behind its rock. I made my way over to it, leaving my team at their foodbowls, and poured out some of the electric type food I'd prepared for Isaac. It flinched. "Don't worry. It's good." The electrike still didn't eat any. "Isaac, can you come help me out over here?" Isaac looked up from his electric yellow food bowl and ran over to me, nuzzling my hand with his nose. I could hear the crackle of electricity as I ran my fingers through his fur. "Can you show this electrike here that the food is good?"

Isaac took a bite of the food I had set out for the electrike. Seeing this, the electrike started to eat. I continued to sit with it while it dined. What was an electrike doing this far down in a cave? I mentally slapped myself for being so daft. The fairtytale had a manectric, the evolved form of electrike. Maybe this electrike knows the manectric. Maybe it knows Jirachi. I could feel it. We were getting close. Electrike curled up for a nap once it finished eating, so I suggested to my team we do the same. I wanted to be rested before seeing the object of my obsession since I was a child.


	8. Maryanne

Chapter 8

_Ryan_

"You're late." Maryanne said, crossing her arms and glaring at me. She was no longer dressed in her suit, but was now dressed in a simple black coat and sunglasses. Why the sunglasses were necessary was beyond me, seeing as the sun was practically down by now, but I wasn't going to ask.

"Yeah, well, the guards that were stuck on me this time were of a different material than the last few. Had to make sure I wasn't followed." I grumbled, running a hand through my hair. She stared at me for a few seconds before nodding, motioning for me to sit down next to her. The bench I had found her on was located in the middle of the market, right next to a fruit vendor. I huffed and sat down, watching the crowds as they flowed by.

"Found anything new?" She asked casually, pulling a newspaper out of her purse and pulling it open. _Real conspicuous. _I thought acidly, leaning back and closing my eyes.

"Yes." I said flatly. "And put the newspaper down, you look like a friggin' idiot. You just asked me to sit down, have a conversation like a normal human being." Maryanne huffed and folded the newspaper, putting it back in her purse with a crumpling of paper. I opened one eye to watch her take off her sunglasses to glare at me. "Oh, good. You took off the sunglasses too. Those were starting to annoy me." I said. She scowled and crossed her arms.

"I was just trying to-"

"I know what you were trying to do. It wasn't working. What about you?" I asked. She nodded slowly, still glaring at me. Damn power-hungry wench. The only reason she was working with me was so that she could reach the top rung of the ladder, with me as her 'right hand man.' We were both looking for Jirachi for our own purposes, underneath the boss's nose. I may dislike Maryanne, but she would be better than the Boss. Guy was a bloody lunatic beneath the fancy clothes.

"Hmm. I may have found something of interest. First, tell me what you've found." She said. I thought for a second before diving into my explanation.

"Well, let's see…I've started to formulate a new plan. Do you have a map on you?" I asked. Maryanne nodded, pulling out a small laminated map of the world along with a dry-erase marker out of her purse. Damn. She kept everything in there, didn't she? "It'd be better if it was bigger." I muttered, and began to sketch. "So, taking into account the time frame of the story and whatnot, steel type and electric type Pokémon were most common here, here, and here." I said, drawing circles around the three areas I had pointed to. They didn't overlap at all, practically. "Now, and this is my newest theory, also taking into account the time frame, I researched human conflict. The areas that were in war at the suggested time of the last awakening, were here, here, here, here, and here." I said, marking the areas once more. I had gone and researched this new theory before coming. That was the real reason I was late. Maryanne peered at the map.

"So then the only place that all of the information overlaps would be here." She said, pointing to an area on the very edge of the Hoenn desert, the only place where territory for electric types, steel types, and human conflict overlapped. I nodded.

"Yes. Unfortunately, it's not all that accurate because the territories for steel types and electric types may have changed over the millennia. But I'm closer than expected." I said. Maryanne nodded.

"I see. That actually coincides with some data that I found. We'll need to head to my lab." She said, carefully folding up the map and snatching the marker from my hands. "Go get back into your suit and meet me at the lab in an hour. Don't be late this time." She said, standing up and walking away hurriedly. I sighed and rubbed my temples. Guess that was my cue.

An hour later I stood in front of the lab, a long, low, glass building that was located about fourteen miles northwest of Slateport. Tyrant, my Tyrantrum, noisily played outside, rolling and stomping on the ground, sending up clouds of dust.

"Ryan! Contain your Pokémon!" Maryanne snapped, emerging from the lab. "He'll wreck the lab!" She snapped. I grinned at her and recalled Tyrant. It wasn't like he was actually going to break anything, he was much too gentle for that. Battles were the only time where he would actually attack to injure anything. But it was still fun to make people sweat.

"You're late." I said, smoothing my suit. I hated this thing. It was so annoying. She huffed, adjusting the white lab coat she had changed into, and adjusting her glasses like they do in anime. She was the only person I knew that actually did that.

"Stow it. Come with me." She said. I followed her into the glass building, marveling at the rows of scientific equipment that were lined along the walls. Why was it all so close to the front door? Wasn't that dangerous? I decided not to question it, and instead continued to follow Maryanne. We stopped in front of a door that was marked 'research and development.' "Don't say a word." She said, and opened the door, walking in on a dozen scientists working on various projects. "Out." She said. The scientists stopped what they were doing and filed out, as if they'd done this drill before.

I whistled and examined one of the projects. It appeared to be a duplication of a master ball, but I wasn't quite sure what it was. For one, it was square, even though it was the same color as a master ball. Weird. There was a loud _thunk, _and I looked up quickly. Maryanne was standing in front of a metal elevator that had just appeared in the wall, the doors open.

"Get in." She said quietly. I nodded and slipped into the elevator, Maryanne slipping in next to me, looking extremely stiff. As soon as the doors closed she let out a sigh of relief. "That room is wired so that if any unknown person enters, an alarm will sound. I rewired it so that you wouldn't set off the visual sensors, but audio still works." She explained. I nodded.

"Ok. But you still haven't told me what I'm doing here." I said. She shrugged.

"We all have our secrets. This elevator is one of mine. No one knows about it, not even the Boss. And this," She said as the elevator ground to a halt. The doors opened, revealing a vast cavern with multiple blinking computer screens that reminded me of the Bat cave. "Is my research lab." She said. I whistled.

"Impressive." I said. She nodded, smiling smugly at me.

"Bet even the great Ryan Maverick doesn't have something like this." She said. I shook my head, approaching one of the computers.

"Nope. All I've got is a one bedroom apartment. Hey, what does this button do?" I asked, reaching for a large blue button.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Maryanne snapped, slapping my hand away. "That wipes the hard drive. Now, back to business." She said, adjusting her coat and glasses again before pressing a few buttons. On the computer screen, a picture of a large ravine appeared.

"What's that?" I asked. Maryanne nodded.

"A ravine that appeared last week." She said. I looked at her quizzically. "I hacked into a military satellite, and found this on it. One week ago this ravine wasn't there. This week it is. Coincidence? I think not. Not only that, but…" She paused to smirk at me. "You'll never guess where this ravine is."

"No way. It's there, isn't it?" I asked, putting two and two together. Maryanne nodded.

"Yes. It is smack-dab in the middle of the area you pinpointed. Looks like you were right, after all." She said. I grinned, smiled, and then laughed whole-heartedly.

"This is simply amazing. Let's get rolling, then."


End file.
